Context. Water is a key tracer of dynamics and chemistry in low-mass star-forming regions, but spectrally resolved observations have so far been limited in sensitivity and angular resolution, and only data from the brightest low-mass protostars have been published. Aims. The first systematic survey of spectrally resolved water emission in 29 low-mass (L < 40 L ) protostellar objects is presented. The sources cover a range of luminosities and evolutionary states. The aim is to characterise the line profiles to distinguish physical components in the beam and examine how water emission changes with protostellar evolution. Methods. H 2 O was observed in the ground-state 1 10 -1 01 transition at 557 GHz (E up /k B ∼ 60 K) as single-point observations with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on Herschel in 29 deeply embedded Class 0 and I low-mass protostars. Complementary far-IR and sub-mm continuum data (including PACS data from our programme) are used to constrain the spectral energy distribution (SED) of each source. H 2 O intensities are compared to inferred envelope properties, e.g., mass and density, outflow properties and CO 3-2 emission. Results. H 2 O emission is detected in all objects except one (TMC1A). The line profiles are complex and consist of several kinematic components tracing different physical regions in each system. In particular, the profiles are typically dominated by a broad Gaussian emission feature, indicating that the bulk of the water emission arises in outflows, not in the quiescent envelope. Several sources show multiple shock components appearing in either emission or absorption, thus constraining the internal geometry of the system. Furthermore, the components include inverse P-Cygni profiles in seven sources (six Class 0, one Class I) indicative of infalling envelopes, and regular P-Cygni profiles in four sources (three Class I, one Class 0) indicative of expanding envelopes. Molecular "bullets" moving at > ∼ 50 km s −1 with respect to the source are detected in four Class 0 sources; three of these sources were not known to harbour bullets previously. In the outflow, the H 2 O/CO abundance ratio as a function of velocity is nearly the same for all line wings, increasing from 10 −3 at low velocities (<5 km s −1 ) to > ∼ 10 −1 at high velocities (>10 km s −1 ). The water abundance in the outer cold envelope is low, > ∼ 10 −10 . The different H 2 O profile components show a clear evolutionary trend: in the younger Class 0 sources the emission is dominated by outflow components originating inside an infalling envelope. When large-scale infall diminishes during the Class I phase, the outflow weakens and H 2 O emission all but disappears.
Context. With the Herschel Space Observatory, lines of simple molecules (C + , O, and high-J lines of CO, J up 14) have been observed in the atmosphere of protoplanetary disks. When combined with ground-based data on [C i], all principle forms of carbon can be studied. These data allow us to test model predictions for the main carbon-bearing species and verify the presence of a warm surface layer. The absence of neutral carbon [C i], which is predicted by models to be strong, can then be interpreted together with ionized carbon [C ii] and carbon monoxide. Aims. We study the gas temperature, excitation, and chemical abundance of the simple carbon-bearing species C, C + , and CO, as well as O by the method of chemical-physical modeling. Using the models, we explore the sensitivity of the lines to the entering parameters and constrain the region from which the line radiation emerges. Methods. Numerical models of the radiative transfer in the lines and dust are used together with a chemical network simulation and a calculation of the gas energetics to obtain the gas temperature. We present our new model, which is based on our previous models but includes several improvements that we report in detail, together with the results of benchmark tests. Results. A model of the disk around the Herbig Be star HD 100546 is able to reproduce the CO ladder together with the atomic finestructure lines of [O i] and either [C i] or [C ii]. We find that the high-J lines of CO can only be reproduced by a warm atmosphere with T gas T dust . The low-J lines of CO, observable from the ground, are dominated by the outer disk with a radius of several 100 AU, while the high-J CO observable with Herschel-PACS are dominated from regions within some tens of AU. The spectral profiles of high-J lines of CO are predicted to be broader than those of the low-J lines. We study the effect of several parameters including the size of the disk, the gas mass of the disk, the PAH abundance and distribution, and the amount of carbon in the gas phase. Conclusions. The main conclusions of our work are (i) only a warm atmosphere with T gas T dust can reproduce the CO ladder. (ii) The CO ladder together with [O i] and the upper limit to [C i] can be reproduced by models with a high gas/dust ratio and a low abundance of volatile carbon. These models however produce too small amounts of [C ii]. Models with a low gas/dust ratio and more volatile carbon also reproduce CO and [O i], are in closer agreement with observations of [C ii], but overproduce [C i]. Owing to the uncertain origin of the [C ii] emission, we prefer the high gas/dust ratio models, indicating a low abundance of volatile carbon.
Abstract:The statistics of discovered exoplanets suggest that planets form efficiently. However, there are fundamental unsolved problems, such as excessive inward drift of particles in protoplanetary disks during planet formation. Recent theories invoke dust traps to overcome this problem. We report the detection of a dust trap in the disk around the star Oph IRS 48 using observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The 0.44-millimeter-wavelength continuum map shows high-contrast crescent-shaped emission on one side of the star originating from millimeter-sized grains, whereas both the mid-infrared image (micrometer-sized dust) and the gas traced by the carbon monoxide 6-5 rotational line suggest rings centered on the star. The difference in distribution of big grains versus small grains/gas can be modeled with a vortex-shaped dust trap triggered by a companion.Main Text: While the ubiquity of planets is confirmed almost daily by detections of new exoplanets (1), the exact formation mechanism of planetary systems in disks of gas and dust around young stars remains a long-standing problem in astrophysics (2). In the standard coreaccretion picture, dust grains must grow from submicron sizes to ~10 M Earth rocky cores within the ~10 Myr lifetime of the circumstellar disk. However, this growth process is stymied by what is usually called the "radial drift and fragmentation barrier": Particles of intermediate size (~1 m at 1 AU, or ~1 mm at 50 AU from the star) acquire high drift velocities toward the star with respect to the gas (3,4). This leads to two major problems for further growth (5): First, highvelocity collisions between particles with different drift velocities cause fragmentation. Second, even if particles avoid this fragmentation, they will rapidly drift inward and thus be lost into the star before they have time to grow to planetesimal size. This radial drift barrier is one of the most persistent issues in planet formation theories. A possible solution is dust trapping in so-called pressure bumps: local pressure maxima where the dust piles up. One example of such a pressure bump is an anticyclonic vortex which can trap dust particles in the azimuthal direction (6-10).Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), we report a highly asymmetric concentration of millimeter-sized dust grains on one side of the disk of the star Oph IRS 48 in the 0.44 millimeter (685 GHz) continuum emission (Fig. 1). We argue that this can be understood in the framework of dust trapping in a large anticyclonic vortex in the disk.The young A-type star Oph IRS 48 (distance ~ 120 pc, 1 pc =3.1·1013 km) has a well studied disk with a large inner cavity (deficit of dust in the inner disk region), a so-called transition disk. Mid-infrared imaging at 18.7 μm reveals a disk ring in the small dust grain (size ~50 μm) emission at an inclination of ~50°, peaking at 55 AU radius (1 AU = 1.5·10 8 km = distance from Earth to the Sun) or 0.46 arcseconds from the star (11). Spatially resolved obs...
In diffuse interstellar clouds the chemistry that leads to the formation of the oxygen-bearing ions OH + , H 2 O + , and H 3 O + begins with the ionization of atomic hydrogen by cosmic rays, and continues through subsequent hydrogen abstraction reactions involving H 2. Given these reaction pathways, the observed abundances of these molecules are useful in constraining both the total cosmic-ray ionization rate of atomic hydrogen (ζ H) and molecular hydrogen fraction (f H 2). We present observations targeting transitions of OH + , H 2 O + , and H 3 O + made with the Herschel Space Observatory along 20 Galactic sight lines toward bright submillimeter continuum sources. Both OH + and H 2 O + are detected in absorption in multiple velocity components along every sight line, but H 3 O + is only detected along 7 sight lines. From the molecular abundances we compute f H 2 in multiple distinct components along each line of sight, and find a Gaussian distribution with mean and standard deviation 0.042 ± 0.018. This confirms previous findings that OH + and H 2 O + primarily reside in gas with low H 2 fractions. We also infer ζ H throughout our sample, and find a lognormal distribution with mean log(ζ H) = −15.75 (ζ H = 1.78 × 10 −16 s −1) and standard deviation 0.29 for gas within the Galactic disk, but outside of the Galactic center. This is in good agreement with the mean and distribution of cosmic-ray ionization rates previously inferred from H + 3 observations. Ionization rates in the Galactic center tend to be 10-100 times larger than found in the Galactic disk, also in accord with prior studies.
Aims. The composition of planetary solids and gases is largely rooted in the processing of volatile elements in protoplanetary disks. To shed light on the key processes, we carry out a comparative analysis of the gas-phase carbon abundance in two systems with a similar age and disk mass, but different central stars: HD 100546 and TW Hya. Methods. We combine our recent detections of C 0 in these disks with observations of other carbon reservoirs (CO, C + , C 2 H) and gas-mass and warm-gas tracers (HD, O 0 ), as well as spatially resolved ALMA observations and the spectral energy distribution. The disks are modelled with the DALI 2D physical-chemical code. Stellar abundances for HD 100546 are derived from archival spectra. Results. Upper limits on HD emission from HD 100546 place an upper limit on the total disk mass of ≤0.1 M . The gas-phase carbon abundance in the atmosphere of this warm Herbig disk is, at most, moderately depleted compared to the interstellar medium, with [C]/[H] gas = (0.1−1.5) × 10 −4 . HD 100546 itself is a λ Boötis star, with solar abundances of C and O but a strong depletion of rockforming elements. In the gas of the T Tauri disk TW Hya, both C and O are strongly underabundant, with [C]/[H] gas = (0.2−5.0)×10 −6 and C/O > 1. We discuss evidence that the gas-phase C and O abundances are high in the warm inner regions of both disks. Our analytical model, including vertical mixing and a grain size distribution, reproduces the observed [C]/[H] gas in the outer disk of TW Hya and allows to make predictions for other systems.
Context. Understanding the physical phenomena involved in the earlierst stages of protostellar evolution requires knowledge of the heating and cooling processes that occur in the surroundings of a young stellar object. Spatially resolved information from its constituent gas and dust provides the necessary constraints to distinguish between different theories of accretion energy dissipation into the envelope. Aims. Our aims are to quantify the far-infrared line emission from low-mass protostars and the contribution of different atomic and molecular species to the gas cooling budget, to determine the spatial extent of the emission, and to investigate the underlying excitation conditions. Analysis of the line cooling will help us characterize the evolution of the relevant physical processes as the protostar ages. Methods. Far-infrared Herschel-PACS spectra of 18 low-mass protostars of various luminosities and evolutionary stages are studied in the context of the WISH key program. For most targets, the spectra include many wavelength intervals selected to cover specific CO, H 2 O, OH, and atomic lines. For four targets the spectra span the entire 55-200 μm region. The PACS field-of-view covers ∼47 with the resolution of 9.4 . Results. Most of the protostars in our sample show strong atomic and molecular far-infrared emission. Water is detected in 17 out of 18 objects (except TMC1A), including 5 Class I sources. The high-excitation H 2 O 8 18 -7 07 63.3 μm line (E u /k B = 1071 K) is detected in 7 sources. CO transitions from J = 14−13 up to J = 49−48 are found and show two distinct temperature components on Boltzmann diagrams with rotational temperatures of ∼350 K and ∼700 K. H 2 O has typical excitation temperatures of ∼150 K. Emission from both Class 0 and I sources is usually spatially extended along the outflow direction but with a pattern that depends on the species and the transition. In the extended sources, emission is stronger off source and extended on ≥10 000 AU scales; in the compact sample, more than half of the flux originates within 1000 AU of the protostar. The Conclusions. The PACS data probe at least two physical components. The H 2 O and CO emission very likely arises in non-dissociative (irradiated) shocks along the outflow walls with a range of pre-shock densities. Some OH is also associated with this component, most likely resulting from H 2 O photodissociation. UV-heated gas contributes only a minor fraction to the CO emission observed by PACS, based on the strong correlation between the shock-dominated CO 24-23 line and the CO 14-13 line. [O i] and some of the OH emission probe dissociative shocks in the inner envelope. The total far-infrared cooling is dominated by H 2 O and CO, with the fraction contributed by [O i] increasing for Class I sources. Consistent with previous studies, the ratio of total far-infrared line emission over bolometric luminosity decreases with the evolutionary state.
Context. Planet formation is closely related to the structure and dispersal of protoplanetary disks. A certain class of disks, called transition disks, exhibit cavities in dust images at scales of up to a few 10s of AU. The formation mechanism of the cavities is still unclear. The gas content of such cavities can be spatially resolved for the first time using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Aims. We develop a new series of models to simulate the physical conditions and chemical abundances of the gas in cavities to address the question whether the gas is primarily atomic or molecular inside the dust free cavities exposed to intense UV radiation. Molecular/atomic line emission by carbon monoxide (CO), its isotopologues ( Methods. We use a thermo-chemical model, which calculates the radiative transfer both in lines and the continuum, and solves for the chemical abundances and gas temperature. The model is based on our previous work, but includes several improvements. We study the dependence of CO abundances and lines on several parameters such as gas mass in the cavity, disk mass and luminosity of the star.Results. The gas can remain in molecular form down to very low amounts of gas in the cavity (∼1% of M Earth ). Shielding of the stellar radiation by a dusty inner disk ("pre-transition disk") allows CO to survive down to lower gas masses in the cavity. The column densities of H 2 and CO in the cavity scale almost linearly with the amount of gas in the cavity down to the mass where photodissociation becomes important. The main parameter for the CO emission from cavity is the gas mass. Other parameters such as the outer disk mass, bolometric luminosity, shape of the stellar spectrum or PAH abundance are less important. Since the CO pure rotational lines readily become optically thick, the CO isotopologues need to be observed in order to quantitatively determine the amount of gas in the cavity. Determining gas masses in the cavity from atomic lines (Conclusions. A wide range of gas masses in the cavity of transition disks (∼4 orders of magnitude) can be probed using combined observations of CO isotopologue lines with ALMA. Measuring the gas mass in the cavity will ultimately help to distinguish between different cavity formation theories.
The protoplanetary system HD 169142 is one of the few cases where a potential candidate protoplanet has recently been detected by direct imaging in the near-infrared. To study the interaction between the protoplanet and the disk itself, observations of the gas and dust surface density structure are needed. This paper reports new ALMA observations of the dust continuum at 1.3 mm, 12 CO, 13 CO, and C 18 O J = 2−1 emission from the system HD 169142 (which is observed almost face-on) at an angular resolution of ∼0 . 3 × 0 . 2 (∼35 × 20 au). The dust continuum emission reveals a double-ring structure with an inner ring between 0 . 17−0 . 28 (∼20−35 au) and an outer ring between 0 . 48−0 . 64 (∼56−83 au). The size and position of the inner ring is in good agreement with previous polarimetric observations in the near-infrared and is consistent with dust trapping by a massive planet. No dust emission is detected inside the inner dust cavity (R 20 au) or within the dust gap (∼35−56 au) down to the noise level. In contrast, the channel maps of the J = 2−1 line of the three CO isotopologs reveal gas inside the dust cavity and dust gap. The gaseous disk is also much larger than the compact dust emission; it extends to ∼1 . 5 (∼180 au) in radius. This difference and the sharp drop of the continuum emission at large radii point to radial drift of large dust grains (>µm size). Using the thermo-chemical disk code dali, we modeled the continuum and the CO isotopolog emission to quantitatively measure the gas and dust surface densities. The resulting gas surface density is reduced by a factor of ∼30−40 inward of the dust gap. The gas and dust distribution indicate that two giant planets shape the disk structure through dynamical clearing (dust cavity and gap) and dust trapping (double-ring dust distribution).
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